Frederick bernhard lentz



(No Model.)

P B LENTZ GASTBR FOR FURNITURE; v No. 584,642. Patented June 15, 1897.

VI/VVE/VTOR WITNESSES.

ilNiThb STATES FREDERICK BERNHARD LENTZ, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

CASTER FOR FURNITURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 584,642, dated June 15, 1897.

Application filed July 31, 1896. Serial No. 601,161. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK BERNI-IARD LENTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casters for Furniture, of which the following'is a specification.

This invention relates to furniture-casters and the object of the invention is to provide a high-class caster which is perfect in the matter of construction and which will give more satisfaction to the retailerand consumer than the socket-casters now generally in use, inasmuch as the caster will cause no trouble by falling out of the socket, which is caused the distance between the enlargement at the lower end of the spindle and a shoulder which is formed at the upper end of the spindle, so that the Weight of the article of furniture will be brought directly upon the enlargement, thus creating no friction of the'upper part of the spindle and spring with the internal walls of the socket.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my improved furniture-caster. Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof, and Fig. 3 is a plan View.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the drawings, A represents the spindle of the caster, which is of such relative diameter as respects the interior diameter of the socket B as that a small space, which is in practice about one sixty-fourth to one thirtysecond of an inch, remains between the spindle and the inner wall of the socket, thus doing away with wear between the spindle and the socket. The spindle is at its lower end provided with a flattened enlargement or bulge a, which rests upon the top of the yoke C, in which the wheel or roller Dismounted, said spindle being riveted or otherwise firmly fastened to the yoke O.

The socket B is preferably made of rolled metal pressed out by a die, or it may be cast in two parts and held together by means of a toothed-rim plate E, this latter being a common expedient in casters. The spindle A is inserted into the socket so that the lower in ner corner or edge of the socket will rest upon the rounded-off top of the enlarged portion Ct, thus imparting the weight of the article to which the caster is applied directly onto the enlargement a and doing away with any friction between the spindle and the socket B. The upper part of the spindle A is reduced in size at 6, so as to provide a neck, below which is an annular shoulder c.

F is a spring made of flat steel in the shape of an umbrella-catch, the lower end of which is inserted into a recess in the shoulder e, or the spring-catch F may be secured to the spindle by pinching the same. The upper end f of the spring-catch F is turned down and inserted into the neck 6 of the spindle, so as to prevent the spring from breaking, as might happen from a severe strain in shipping, &c., with those springs in which the ends of the same project upwardly and are free to catch on different articles.

At the interior of the upper part of the socket B is an annular shoulder 17, over which the nose f of the spring-catch snaps when the spindle is inserted into the socket for the connection of the same therewith. This spring prevents the caster from falling out of the socket and is never in use excepting in adjusting and removing the caster.

The shoulder 79 holds the caster from slipping out of the socket when the caster is notresting on the floor, and this is the only time that the spring and shoulder are in use, inasmuch as the distance between the enlargement at on the lower end of the spindle and the shoulder e at the upper part of the spindle is less than the distance between the shoulder 1) in the socket and the lower end of the socket itself. the front of the spindle over the wheel, it tends to prevent the usual falling of the easter from the socket, which is caused by the As the spring Fis arranged at constant rubbing of the spring against the spindle Y Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent In a caster, the combination of a socket provided with an internal annular shoulder at its upper part, a wheeled spindle closely fitting and turning in said socket and provided at its upper end with a contracted portion or neck extending above said annular shoulder, and with an annular shoulder at the base of the said neck, said spindle being further provided with an enlargement at its lower end that has frictional contact with the lower end of the socket, the distance between the shoulder on the spindle and said enlargement being less than the distance between the shoulder in the socket and the lower end of the same, and a spring-catch similar to an umbrella-catch and extending upwardly from the shoulder end of the spindle, said springcatch projecting in front of the contracted portion or neck of the spindle, being attached to the shoulder of the same on the wheel side and being arranged out of frictional contact with the socket, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

F. BERNHARD LENTZ.

' \Vitnesses:

PAUL GonPnL, GEO. W. J AEKEL. 

